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Vancouver Canucks back to work vs. Colorado Avalanche, AHL All-Star update |
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Tuesday January 30 - Vancouver Canucks vs. Colorado Avalanche - 7 p.m. - Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet 650
Vancouver Canucks: 49 GP, 19-24-6, 44 pts, seventh in Pacific Division
Colorado Avalanche: 48 GP, 27-18-3, 57 pts, fifth in Central Division
After playing just four games in the last 15 days, the Vancouver Canucks get back to work on Tuesday night, wrapping up their January schedule against the Colorado Avalanche.
The Canucks are 3-6-1 so far in 2018 and now sit a distant 13 points behind the Avs, who are clinging to the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference because they own the tiebreaker against LA, Minnesota and Anaheim—who also have 57 points but have all played more games.
The playoff race will be fun to watch from our comfy chairs on the sidelines, right?
This year's turnaround by the Avalanche offers hope to Canucks fans—another reminder that fortunes can change in a hurry in today's NHL. In just 48 games this year, the Avs already have one point more than they managed to accumulate during their entire dismal 2016-17 season.
Like Travis Green, Jared Bednar was coming out of the AHL, with no NHL coaching experience, when he took over the Avs last season. As much as anything, I think their stuggles stemmed from the late-summer departure of Patrick Roy, who gave the organization just a few weeks to get its ducks in a row before the season began.
Now, Bednar's getting the most out of his players. At 22, Nathan MacKinnon is reminding us why he won the Calder Trophy as an 18-year-old. He's already in his fifth season and is on pace for a career year—currently second in the NHL scoring race with 60 points and leading the league with seven game-winning goals.
The Avs are also finally reaping rewards of their 2011 trade for Erik Johnson. Healthy this season, the hulking 29-year-old is sixth in the NHL in average ice time at 25:45 per game and has become a vocal team leader as the Avs have dug themselves out of their funk.
The biggest reason for Colorado's recent 10-game win streak, though, is the remarkable return to form of Jonathan Bernier. After starter Semyon Varlamov suffered a groin strain in late December, Bernier allowed 13 goals in the Avs' next nine games before dropping decisions to the Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues just before the All-Star Break.
Varlamov is close to being ready to return to action, but it'll be Bernier vs. Jacob Markstrom at Rogers Arena tonight.
I'm looking forward to my first chance to see young defenseman Samuel Girard in action. Listed at 5'10" and 162 pounds, the 19-year-old rookie hasn't missed a game since being acquired by the Avalanche from Nashville as part of the Matt Duchene deal. People talk a lot about how Colorado's improvement has been due to the addition-by-subtraction of moving on from Duchene, but that may be doing a disservice to Girard. He has nine assists and an even plus-minus in 34 games with the Avs, while averaging 17:04 of ice time per night.
Since Girard joined the team on November 10, Colorado is 19-12-3.
As for the Canucks, Erik Gudbranson joined them on the ice for practice on Monday.
Gudbranson also participated in Tuesday's morning skate, but isn't quite game ready. He could get back into the lineup on Thursday against Chicago.
No word on any changes on the blue line, so I'll expect to see Alex Biega on the third pair and Derrick Pouliot scratched for the sixth time in the last eight games.
One lineup change up front tonight.
Dowd had played 17 straight games with the Canucks since his last healthy scratch, against Nashville back on December 13.
Finally, if you missed it, this year's AHL All-Star Classic in Utica was a rousing success. Playing to a packed house in their newly renovated arena, Thatcher Demko and Reid Boucher helped the North Division stage a come-from-behind win in Monday's All-Star Challenge 3-on-3 tournament.
Playing in a tandem with Linus Ullmark of the Rochester Americans, Demko made the highlight-reel save in the dying seconds that gave the North Division a 1-0 win over the Pacific Division in the tournament's championship game.
Brock Boeser may be a stone-faced assassin, but Demko's big personality was on full display all weekend, including throwing out his stick as a decoy in Sunday's breakaway relay and wrapping up with a tasty two-pad stack.
Demko's ultra-competitive, but he clearly knows how to have a good time.
Thatcher's dad has the photographic evidence:
The vibes are good in Utica, with the Comets on target to make the playoffs despite all the injuries they've endured this season.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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